The present invention relates to connection devices in general, and more particularly to connection nipples for containers such as blood bags and the like for providing fluid communication with the interior of the container.
In prior art connection nipples, the connection nipples have comprised a hollow tubular member having opposing open ends. One open end is adapted to be inserted into and fixed in a corresponding seat of the container, such as for example a blood bag, in order to provide fluid communication with the interior cavity of the blood bag, while the other open end, located outside the seat in the blood bag is disposed to be connectable to a line or other device for communication with the inner cavity of the blood bag through the connection nipple.
One disadvantage inherent in such prior art connection nipples is that such arrangements do not always create sufficient protection against contamination of the interior of the blood bag. For example, contamination or ambient air may penetrate into the interior of the bag through the exposed open end of the connection nipple, i.e., the end which is not inserted and fixedly restrained in the seat of the blood bag. This risk of contamination is particularly great before the exposed open end of the connection nipple has been connected to a line and thus sealed off from its surroundings.
While various types of prior art contamination preventing devices have been suggested, such devices have not proven satisfactory in providing a substantially contamination-free environment while at the same time providing a device which is easy to create a satisfactory fluid communication between a line and the inner cavity located within the blood bag.
Thus, one object of the present invention is to provide a connection nipple for blood bags in particular which greatly reduces the risk of contamination of the interior cavity of the blood bag, and by means of which it is easy to create a satisfactory fluid communication between a line and the inner cavity of the blood bag.